PHILADELPHIA – The first wave began rolling into South Philadelphia on Monday, and the Eagles got to work cutting their roster down to 53 players by Tuesday's 4 p.m.
While the first wave is relatively predictable and doesn't usually catch anyone off guard, there was one notable name that got buried in that first wave: Taron Jackson. The defensive end was one of three sixth-round picks in the Eagles' 2021 draft. The firing was first reported by Andrew DeCecco of insidethebird.com.
The other two sixth-round picks in that class were defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu and safety Jacoby Stevens. Of course, the stars of the year were DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson, both of whom signed second contracts last offseason. Milton Williams, Zeck McPherson, Kenny Gainwell and Patrick Johnson all enrolled that year as well.
Williams and Gainwell have secured spots but Tuipulotu, McPherson and Johnson are all doubts.
While Stevens never accomplished much in the league, Jackson looked promising as a rookie, appearing in 12 games and playing 22 percent of the defensive snaps. He recorded 17 tackles, one sack, nine quarterback hits and one forced fumble.
However, in his second year, the Eagles signed running back Haason Reddick as a free agent and drafted defensive tackle Jordan Davis. Jackson appeared in four games and just 27 defensive snaps, and did not play in the postseason that year, when the Eagles reached the Super Bowl.
Last year, Jackson spent the season on the practice squad, and the same fate could be in store for him again this year.
The Eagles will increase their roster to 53 players on Tuesday afternoon and can begin fielding their 16-man practice squad starting at noon Wednesday.
According to DeCecco and Aaron Wilson of Houston TV, other players who were released include receivers Austin Watkins and Griffin Hebert, offensive lineman Max Scharping and undrafted free agent safety Andre Sam.
There's also a chance that one of them will make the trainee squad, but either way, so far it seems unlikely that one of them won't make the 53-man projection.
This is the first set of cuts, but there will be many more to come before a larger wave of cuts arrives.
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